Tharisa has secured the financing required to move its Karo platinum project in Zimbabwe through its remaining construction phase, removing one of the principal constraints on a development expected to more than double the group’s platinum-group metals output.
The company priced a $300 million, five-year senior secured Nordic bond on 10 September. Issued at 98% of its face value, the bond will generate gross proceeds of approximately $294 million and carries an annual coupon of 11%, paid twice yearly.
Most of the proceeds will be directed towards completing Karo, while a portion may be used for general corporate purposes. The money will remain in escrow until the conditions for its release have been satisfied.
The offering attracted interest from more than 150 institutional investors across Europe, the United Kingdom, the Middle East, North America and Asia. Tharisa said demand exceeded the amount available.
Three pieces of the project structure
The bond forms part of a wider package assembled around Karo during recent weeks.
Tharisa has signed a special mining lease agreement with the Zimbabwean government, strengthening the project’s long-term mining and fiscal framework. It has also concluded an offtake agreement under which Valterra Platinum will purchase concentrate produced by the mine.
The three arrangements address separate project requirements: the mining lease provides tenure, the Valterra agreement establishes a market for future concentrate and the bond supplies capital for construction.
The 11% coupon reflects the cost of financing a project that remains under construction in Zimbabwe. However, the bond’s oversubscription indicates that institutional investors were prepared to accept that exposure once the project combined secured tenure, an identified buyer and advanced physical development.
By May 2026, Tharisa had invested approximately $241 million in Karo. Mine design, metallurgical testing and earthworks had been completed, while civil works were reported to be about 80% complete. The mills and most long-lead equipment had already been delivered or procured, and work on water and electricity infrastructure was advancing.
First ore targeted for late 2027
Karo is located on Zimbabwe’s Great Dyke, one of the world’s principal PGM-bearing geological formations. Its initial open-pit phase is designed to produce approximately 226,000 ounces of PGMs annually.
Tharisa expects first ore to reach the processing plant in the fourth quarter of 2027. At planned output, Karo could more than double the company’s current PGM production and establish Zimbabwe as its second major operating jurisdiction alongside South Africa.
The project is initially planned as an open-pit operation with a mine life exceeding ten years. Tharisa has also identified underground potential that could extend mining for several decades, although that longer-term development would require additional technical studies and investment.
The financing gives Tharisa the capital to resume construction at scale. Karo’s progress will now be measured against physical delivery: completion of the plant and infrastructure, mobilisation of the mine, commissioning and first ore in late 2027.
